LeBron James shuts down Kevin Durant in fourth … and is “not a good defender”

When I saw the quotes from Serge Ibaka Tuesday, only one word came to mind: “Whoops.”

Game 4 of the NBA Finals is in like seven hours (the Heat lead 2-1). In the fourth quarter of Game 3, LeBron James played brilliant defense on Kevin Durant – and Miami went on to win.

Well, Durant’s Thunder teammate told The Palm Beach Post that James is “not a good defender” and that “he can play defense for two or three minutes but not 48 minutes.”

First of all, James made the NBA’s all-defensive team. And he has shown that he can guard basically every position on the floor at a high level.

But even if this dude was a Carmelo-like defender, why would you possibly call him out DURING THE NBA FINALS? Why wake a giant? Why rattle a ruthless, cold-blooded MVP?

LeBron told reporters Tuesday that “I don’t really care what he says, he’s stupid,” James said. “Everyone says something to me every series then (the media) tries to get a quote. It’s stupid.”

From what we’ve seen of LeBron’s focus (for the most part) this postseason, it’s probable that he’ll blow off the comments come game time. Focusing on a gameplan for an NBA Finals game is much bigger than focusing on some silliness from Serge Ibaka. But surely it fueled the fire, even a little bit.

Chris Dempsey arrived at The Denver Post in Dec. 2003 after seven years at the Boulder Daily Camera, where he primarily covered the University of Colorado football and men's basketball teams. A University of Colorado-Boulder alumnus, Dempsey covers the Nuggets and also chips in on college sports.